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  • Beyonce Looks Bootylicious As She Models Her New Clothing Line

    With the material clinging tightly to her famous curves, this black dress looks as if it was made for Beyonce.
    And indeed it was – as it features in the singer’s new fashion line Dereon, which is being launched just in time for Brazil’s Valentine’s Day, on June 12.
    The range includes bandage dresses and tailored blazers with embroidered detail, and is intended to make women look powerful.
    Look like a star: Beyonce models a little black dress from her 
Dereon fashion line
    Look like a star: Beyonce models a little black dress from her Dereon fashion line

    Warrior goddess: The singer designed the clothes with the 
empowerment of women in mind
    Warrior goddess: The singer designed the clothes with the empowerment of women in mind
    The 28-year-old said: ‘The collection was inspired by the theme of the warrior goddess, a sexy, yet empowered woman.
    ‘There are form-fitting silhouettes, sexy dresses and a lot of metal details to give the pieces a strong, but glamorous feel.’
    The line, which follows House of Dereon, is for sale exclusively at C&A stores in Brazil this week.
    House of Dereon was launched by the Knowles family in 2006 as a pret-a-porter fashion line, and followed soon after by the Dereon line, for younger women.
    The gowns range in price from $300-$500 and are on sale in U.S. department stores, including Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.
    Dereon was the maiden name of Beyonce's grandmother Agnèz Deréon, whose married name Agnèz Beyincé inspired the singer's first name.
    Beyonce   Beyonce
    Kick: The range showcases the talents of Beyonce's mother Tina
    The collection is sold with the tagline 'Couture. Kick. Soul' as it represents the spirits of three generations of Knowles women.
    Beyonce's mother Tina is the 'couture' thanks to her design talents, the singer brings the 'kick', while late Agnez had the 'soul'.
    Along with House of Dereon and the Dereon fashion line, the Knowles family recently announced plans to expand their business to include home furnishings.
    Tina said: 'Both Beyonce and I are huge fans of home furnishings and try to stay on top of this ever-changing market.
    'As someone who has also realised many interior-design projects, I am so excited to expand our House of Dereon and Dereon brands in this category.
    'The thought that we would have something to do in brightening up someone's home, especially bedrooms, is truly wonderful.'
    Sexy spy: Beyonce plays a jewel thief in the new Brazilian TV 
advertisement for her Dereon by Beyonce fashion line
    Sexy spy: Beyonce plays a jewel thief in the new Brazilian TV advertisement for her Dereon by Beyonce fashion line
    beyonce stars in a new commercial for Dereon where she is seen 
ducking and diving to avoid lasers
    Limber: Beyonce proves the best advert for her form fitting clingy black dress
    Beyonce is so involved with the marketing of the label she even name-checked their jeans in her 2009 hit Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).
    In the single, she sings: 'Got me tighter than my Dereon jeans.'
    Before Dereon, Tina was responsible was dressing Beyonce's former group Destiny's Child and custom-made matching outfits for the trio.
    Beyonce recently made the headlines when she played a sexy jewel thief in the new Brazilian TV ad for the Dereon range.
    Flexible: Beyonce performed all her own stunts herself into the 
energetic video
    Flexible: Beyonce performed all her own stunts herself into the energetic video
    Balancing act: Beyonce cartwheels over the lasers
    Balancing act: Beyonce cartwheels confidently over the lasers just managing to keep her modesty
    beyonce
    ... and as you would expect, the soundtrack to the ad is her hit single Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
    Wearing her little black dress, the singer showed off her gymnastic skills as she cartwheeled and flipped over laser beams for the new campaign.
    The advert reveals just how form-fitting and flexible the clothes are, as they cling perfectly to her curves during her daring stunts.
    As you would expect, the soundtrack to the ad is Beyonce's 2009 hit Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).
    The ad appears to be inspired by a scene from 1999 film Entrapment, which stars Catherine Zeta-Jones as an insurance investigator posing as a thief in a bid to catch Sean Connery's professional criminal.
    Keep its shape: Beyonce models a black bandage dress which sells 
for 79 Brazilian reals
    In shape: Beyonce models a black bandage dress which sells for 79 Brazilian reals
    beyonce stars in a new commercial for Dereon where she is seen 
ducking and diving to avoid lasers
    Bling bling: Beyonce is mesmerised by the gorgeous jewel
    Eyes on the prize: Beyonce finally gets up close to the diamond - 
but will she be able to get it back out of the high-security room?
    Eyes on the prize: Beyonce finally gets up close to the diamond - but will she be able to get it back out of the high-security room?
    Inspiration? Catherine Zeta-Jones as Gin in a scene from 1999 film
 Entrapment
    Inspiration? Catherine Zeta-Jones as Gin in a scene from 1999 film Entrapment

    From DAILYMAIL

    Bikini girl Sheryl Crow plays with son Wyatt in the Bahamas surf ahead of gig

    Touring around the world promoting their work can be a lonely time for a pop star.

    But Sheryl Crow couldn't have looked happier, as she prepared for her upcoming show in the Bahamas.

    It may have something to do with her companion - her two-year-old son Wyatt.
    Sheryl Crow and son Wyatt

    Doting mother: Sheryl Crow played with her two-year-old son Wyatt in the Caribbean surf during her trip to the Bahamas
    Sheryl Crow
    Sheryl Crow
    Sheryl Crow and son Wyatt

    Action packed: The 48-year-old photographed her son to record the moment for the holiday album

    The doting mother, 48, carried her youngster into the warm Caribbean sea, as he squealed with delight.

    Sheryl looked equally happy, playfully splashing him as they sat in the blue water on Paradise Island.

    Wyatt was protected against the sun in a blue T-shirt and goggles, while his mother showed off her defined stomach muscles in a flattering yellow bikini.
    Playful: The pair had fun in the surf

    Playful: The pair had fun in the surf
    Flexible: Wyatt examines his mother's leg

    Flexible: Wyatt examines his mother's leg

    The pair are staying at the luxury Atlantis resort, where Sheryl will perform on Saturday night.

    Sheryl adopted her son when he was just two weeks old, and has made no secret of her love for him.

    In tribute to the blonde haired youngster she recorded the song Lullaby For Wyatt on her sixth studio album Detours.

    The pair live on a 154-acre farm outside Nashville, Tennessee, although this is now up for sale.

    The luxury house includes an interesting feature - a worksurface on top of an aquarium.
    Sheryl Crow

    Soaking it all up: Despite being a working holiday, it was a chance for Sheryl to relax

    Obama And Geithner Have A 'Man-Crush' On Each Other: New York Magazine

    Massive dome lowered at site of huge U.S. oil spill


    BP Plc engineers using undersea robots maneuvered a massive metal chamber to fit over a gushing ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday in their best chance yet to contain a leak that threatens an environmental catastrophe on U.S. shores.

    The four-story structure, the best short-term hope of controlling the spewing crude, was lowered to the seabed almost one mile (1.6 km) below the surface in an attempt to funnel the escaping oil to a surface tanker.

    BP, which faces major financial losses from the spill, suffered a further blow when ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on the British oil giant to negative from stable.

    It is under pressure from the Obama administration to limit the damage from what could be the worst oil spill in U.S. history. BP has said it will pay all legitimate costs, a bill that is likely to run into the billions of dollars.

    BP officials hope the container will begin funneling oil from the leak next week. Workers will spend the next three to four days making the connections to pump crude to the surface.

    The device has not been tried at that depth, where engineers guiding remotely operated vehicles battle darkness, currents and intense undersea pressure. BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward warned there was no certainty of success.

    "The pressures and temperatures are very different here, so we cannot be confident that it will work," Hayward told CNN.

    BP is drilling a relief well to halt the leak -- which began after the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, killing 11 crew members -- but it could take up to three months to complete. Engineers have also considered pumping heavy fluids into the top of the failed blowout preventer to plug the leaking well in a technique called "top kill."

    They gave up on efforts to close valves on a failed blowout preventer with underwater robots, after trying in vain for two weeks, Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, said.

    Surface containment efforts continue, helped by calm seas. Controlled burns on Thursday removed up to 9,000 barrels (280,000 gallons/1,070,000 litres) of oil, he said.

    It "is a very powerful technique and when the weather is good it will continue," Suttles said.

    Forecasts suggest light winds through Saturday, although they are expected shift and come from the south to southwest, which could push the slick toward the Louisiana shore.

    About 250 boats deployed protective booms and used dispersants to break up the thick oil on Friday. Crews have laid almost 800,000 feet (240,000 metres) of boom, and spread 267,000 gallons (1 million litres) of chemical dispersant.

    On Thursday, after meeting with BP executives in Houston, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the company and its partners made "some very major mistakes."

    Salazar reiterated the U.S. government will issue no new offshore drilling permits until an inter-agency panel gives a safety review to President Barack Obama by May 28. In the meantime, current drilling will continue.

    DOWNGRADES

    Standard & Poor's, in announcing the negative outlook, indicated a ratings downgrade was likely. Moody's said the spill raised the specter of credit pressure for the five primary companies involved in the project.

    S&P cut its outlook for Anadarko Petroleum Corp, which has a 25 percent stake in the ill-fated well, to stable from positive, saying it is "potentially liable for significant costs and liabilities relating to the clean-up."

    Other companies involved are Transocean, owner of the rig that caught fire and collapsed; Cameron International, which supplied the failed blow-out preventer for the well; and Halliburton, which helped cement in place the blown-out well.

    Hayward a $75 million legal cap on its cleanup and compensation liabilities under federal law, which some U.S. lawmakers now want to raise, would not be a limit for BP.

    BP shares dropped 2.3 percent in London on Friday, less than the broad STOXX Europe 600 Oil and Gas index which fell 3.8 percent. In New York, BP's American Depository Receipts sank 2.7 percent.

    The spill threatens an economic and ecological disaster on tourist beaches, wildlife refuges and fishing grounds in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. It has forced Obama to rethink plans to open more waters to drilling.

    At least 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 litres) have poured into the Gulf each day since the well ruptured.

    A sheen of oil has engulfed much of the Chandeleur Islands, barrier islands that are part of Louisiana's Breton National Wildlife Refuge, the first confirmation of the oil slick hitting land. Some oiled birds have been found in recent days.

    The Breton refuge was closed to the public after a silver sheen and emulsified oil reached the shoreline, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said. Altogether, crude from the spill could hit 24 national wildlife refuges.

    A Reuters photographer, on a flyover of the coast, saw a band of oil, orange in color and about a mile or two long, running parallel to shore about 17 miles (27 km) south of barrier islands off Mississippi's mainland.

    Numerous black blobs, possibly emulsified tar, were visible just below the surface in shallow water near some marsh coast to the east of the Chandeleur Islands.

    U.S. authorities on Friday modified and expanded the boundaries of the area closed to fishing as a result of the spill, and extended restrictions for another 10 days, to May 17. The closed area represents almost 4.5 percent of Gulf of Mexico federal waters, up from slightly less than 3 percent included in the original ban.

    "This oil spill was the last thing we needed," Lance Nacio, a shrimper with Anna Marie Seafood in Dulac, Louisiana, said on a call with reporters. "I think this is going to devastate the industry which was already tattered by low dockside prices."

    Kevin Begos, a seafood industry spokesman in Apalachicola, Florida, said dealers in his area have seen orders drop. "Right now, it's mostly fear, because oil hasn't come here yet," Begos said.

    Alabama tourism officials planned an ad campaign to let tourists know the beaches were still clean and encourage them not to cancel their vacation plans.

    Fears of massive shipping problems in the Gulf of Mexico have not panned out. Shippers and ports are prepared to clean vessels that move through the oily waters, but so far ships have passed through without contamination.

    (Additional reporting by Matt Bigg in Venice, Louisiana; Matt Daily in New York; Tom Bergin in London; Anna Driver, Bruce Nichols and Chris Baltimore in Houston; Tom Brown and Pascal Fletcher in Miami; Karen Brettell in New York; Steve Gorman and Brian Snyder in Mobile, Alabama; and Richard Cowan in Washington; writing by Jeffrey Jones, John Whitesides and Ros Krasny; editing by Eric Beech)

    Kristen hates getting criticised on red carpet

    London, May 8 (IANS) Hollywood actress Kristen Stewart says she hates the criticism she receives for her downcast expressions on the red carpet, which she believes is an uncontrollable response to the people around her.

    'People say that I'm miserable all the time. It's not that I'm miserable, it's just that somebody's yelling at me. I literally, sometimes, have to keep myself from crying. It's a physical reaction to the energy that's thrown at you,' femalefirst.co.uk quoted Stewart as saying.

    Kristen also insisted most of the negative comments she receives are unjustified because she is passionate about her profession.

    Ambani Gas row: SC favours Mukesh

    A three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan who demits office on Tuesday, favoured Mukesh Ambani in the high voltage gas pricing and supply dispute between Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL).

    Chief Justice supported Sathasivam's judegement. Justice Sathasivam said that the brothers need to re-noegtiate the MoU in six weeks as the family MoU was not binding. It added that gas was a national asset and the government will finally decide on the pricing. However Justice Reddy disagreed with the judgement.

    The case is one of India's biggest corporate battles. RIL had appealed to the apex court after the Bombay High Court ruled in favour of RNRL.

    Sathasivam in his verdict said RNRL is entitled to get 28 million cubic meters a day from RIL's eastern offshore KG-D6 fields at $2.34 per mmBtu, a price 44% lower than government-approved rates.

    The case involves terms of a deal under which Reliance Industries was to supply Anil Ambani's Reliance Natural with 28 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas for 17 years at a rate below the government price.

    Stock market participants expected a repeat of the Bombay High Court judgment, which asked Reliance to supply gas to RNRL at $2.34 per unit.

    Case Timeline

    The gas, which Reliance Natural wants at almost half the government-set rate of $4.2 per million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu), comes from the Krishna Godavari basin off India's east coast, which is operated by Reliance Industries.

    Also read: What does Ambani gas row ruling mean?

    The field is India's biggest gas find and should nearly double the nation's gas output when production is at full throttle at 80 mmscmd.

    The disputed deal was part of a 2005 family settlement between the Ambani brothers under which the Reliance empire was split following the death of their father. The brothers have been in several disputes since then.

    Also Read: What has the Reliance gas dispute been all about?

    Reliance Industries argues the private deal cannot take precedence over government policy, which determines who can receive gas and at what price.

    Anil Ambani, who claims otherwise, rolled out a series of front-page advertisements in major newspapers accusing the government of taking the side of Reliance Industries.

    The government initially filed a petition in India's highest court asking to be made a party in the dispute, arguing the family deal was not applicable, and Reliance Industries could only sell gas with its consent.

    The government later modified its stance, saying it only wanted to assert that it is the rightful owner of the gas.

    Downing a quart is child's play for five-year-old 'brandy boy'

    Downing a quarter measure of brandy at one go is child's play perhaps only for the best of tipplers. But five-year-old Eeranna, a school dropout from Davanagere in Karnataka, does just that, and in double-quick time.

    Although the child now drinks the locally brewed liquor for a high, barely 18 months ago the drink used to be his asthma medication - the only relief his parents, both daily wage labourers, could afford.

    Recently, when Karnataka's excise minister M. P. Renukacharya visited Davanagere, local leaders took Eeranna to the minister and the boy showed him his 'skill'. And that heralded change in the child's life.

    The minister was horrified to see the boy polishing off the liquor with relish. He summoned Eeranna's parents and inquired about their circumstances. The minister found that the boy belonged to "an extremely poor family" and that they didn't "even have a proper hut". "The government has decided to adopt Eeranna and take care of his education till college," the minister then said.

    He also directed the Davanagere district administration to allot a house to Eeranna's parents under a housing scheme.

    Srinivasa Naik, who brought Eeranna to the minister, said the boy had even taken to stealing brandy from his relatives.

    "He is addicted to brandy. Whenever his father refused him liquor, he would steal it. His parents did not bother too much about him as they had their hands full," he said.

    Naik said Eeranna's relatives used to show off his "drinking skills". "They would take Eeranna to local fairs and he would down bottles of brandy in minutes before huge crowds," he said.

    Naik had spotted the boy at one such fair and convinced the child's parents to take him to the minister. "The local hospital will conduct a check-up," Davanagere district social welfare officer Dr Suchetna Swaroop said.

    The adventures of a Swami, and his friends

    An always smiling, upwardly mobile 34-year-old Swami is allegedly caught on tape in a secret romp with a Tamil actress; his ashram is under siege; a former devotee who secretly filmed the video files a police complaint against him for alleged rape and harassment; the Swami goes on the run; he is finally arrested from Himachal Pradesh; and an ashram clause referring to tantric sex surfaces.

    Since March 2, 2010, when a sex video surfaced on prime time TV in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, titillating stories and salacious charges concerning Paramahamsa Swami Nityananda have not ceased streaming in.

    Apart from sexual allegations, there are tales about the smiling Swami healing the persistent back pain of a policeman who went to arrest him in Himachal Pradesh. And there are stories of the police, hard pressed to find rape and harassment evidence, asking him during interrogation to at least wipe off that famous smile.

    Meanwhile, a seven-year-old, rapidly flourishing spiritual movement that originated in Tamil Nadu as the Nityananda Dhyanapeetam and has spread to the US as the Life Bliss foundation, is in pause mode as its chief proponent deals with earthly matters like bail and court cases. While the alleged sex video has since been barred from being telecast - on a court injunction sought by Nityananda - his 22-acre ashram located on prime land in Bidadi, 32 km from Bangalore, has been steadily losing devotees.

    Numbers at the India operations of Nityananda Dhyanapeetam have dwindled from a steady 300 permanent residents to merely 50 now.

    Among those left holding the fort for the return of Nityananda are a bunch of young, articulate, well-educated men and women - among them foreign nationals - who gave up careers in software, investment banking and advertising to follow a spiritual calling. Nityananda himself is a mechanical engineering diploma holder who once went by the name A Rajashekharan.

    His followers gave up jobs in companies like Intel and Hewlett Packard, salaries in the range of Rs 70,000-plus for "their spiritual master". These Bidadi ashram inmates have since dug their heels in, and launched Internet and YouTube campaigns to clear Nityananda's name against charges primarily framed by former ashramite Lenin Karuppan a.k.a. Swami Nitya Dharmananda.

    "Why should a sex scandal knock down a pile of achievements in yoga, meditation and public service? You can see that a game is going on when allegations of gold and tiger pelts smuggling are being made," says Sri Nityananda Dheere, a middle-aged US national who has been with Nityananda's movement for over five years.

    "We all come from good backgrounds. Do you think we are stupid to leave that and come here to get some cheap thrills?" says Ma Nitya Shantananda, a former Indian software engineer who joined Nityananda's Life Bliss Foundation in Los Angeles before moving to the Bidadi ashram.

    "When we read in the media that he abuses women, it shocks us. Every woman here will vouch for the character of Swamiji," says Ma Nitya Priyananda.

    Kannada actress Malavika Avinash, in a blog post, backed him too. "Who better than an actress like me to testify that Swamiji did not display any behaviour that caused discomfort to me as a woman?" she wrote.

    Nityananda himself has dodged questions on his presence in the screened sex video, saying he was "in the spiritual state of samadhi".

    Lenin Karuppan, who facilitated the making of the video allegedly featuring Nityananda and actress Ranjitha, has in his complaint accused him of sexually assaulting a male devotee, Sri Vimalananda Swami, and another devotee, Nityananda Gopika, at the Bidadi ashram. The CID in Karnataka, however, has been unable to get statements from the two.

    According to Karuppan, Nityananda preached celibacy but did not practise it. Ashram inmates, however, say Nityananda never professed celibacy but left it to individuals to choose their paths. What has added to the consternation is a non-disclosure agreement that participants in some programmes had to sign that made specific references to possible use of tantric sex practices.

    There are also allegations regarding the mysterious death of a 58-year-old Canadian national, Melvyn Diamond.

    Called in to investigate a case that largely hinges on social and moral issues, the CID police have been at their wit's end, says a senior police officer. "We are trying our best to establish a case, but it is difficult," says a senior Karnataka police officer.

    Not such a Twiglet anymore: Jack Tweed bulks up following 'taunts' in prison

    In jail, he was said to have been called The Twiglet by fellow inmates because of his weedy physique.

    But two years on, Jack Tweed, who was found not guilty of rape earlier this week, was pictured at a fitness centre close to his family home in Essex appearing to have piled on the pounds.

    The widower of late Big Brother star Jade Goody took time out to put some exercise in on what was his first full day of freedom after being cleared of the charge.
    Bulky: Jack Tweed has beefed up since his spells in prison - he was pictured at a fitness centre in Chigwell where he showed off his larger physique

    Bulky: Jack Tweed has beefed up since his spells in prison - he was pictured at a fitness centre in Chigwell where he showed off his larger physique
    Slim pickings: The 22-year-old is pictured three years ago on a holiday in Tobago with his late wife Jade Goody and her son Bobby

    Slim pickings: The 22-year-old is pictured three years ago on a holiday in Tobago with his late wife Jade Goody and her son Bobby

    Last year, it was reported that the 22-year-old had embarked on a weight training regime in prison after he was taunted by other inmates for being slim.

    David Beckham wants sons to carry on his legacy

    Football star David Beckham says it would be great if his sons would take sports seriously and become good players.

    'They're really into playing soccer, but they're also into playing other sports. Now, obviously, living in the US, they're playing football, they're playing basketball, baseball,' femalefirst.co.uk quoted him as saying.

    David also feels Brooklyn Joseph, 11, Romeo James, 7, and five-year-old Cruz David are talented kids.

    'They're talented little boys, but, whatever they want to do, it doesn't matter... but it'd be great for them to be involved in sports, because it's such a great thing.'

    David and his wife Victoria are also keen to extend their family.

    'I think one day, if we're blessed to have more children, it would be amazing. It's a lot having three boys. So, we're just enjoying the boys at the moment. But who knows, one day?' said Victoria.

    Reliance discovers more oil in Cambay basin


    Energy major Reliance Industries has discovered more oil on India's western coast, raising the potential of the exploratory blocks it has been drilling, the company said on Wednesday.

    India's biggest conglomerate whose businesses span petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration and retail said the current flow was at 300 barrels of oil per day (bopd) at the onland exploratory block in the Cambay basin in Gujarat.

    The potential commercial interest of the discovery is being evaluated through more data gathering and analysis, it said in a statement.

    "The discovery is significant as this play fairway is expected to open more oil pool areas leading to better hydrocarbon potential within the block," it said.

    Reliance holds 100 percent participating interest in the block, and three earlier discoveries had a flow rate of 500 bopd. The company has so far drilled 14 exploratory wells in the block that covers an area of 635 square kilometres.

    Last year Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, started pumping gas from its block in the vast Krishna Godavari (KG) basin off India's east coast, where it made the country's largest gas find.

    It has been producing 60 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) of gas from the block. At peak output of 80 million mmscmd it could nearly double India's gas output.

    Reliance also produces oil from its D6 block in the KG basin, and holds a stake in the Panna, Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields off India's west coast.

    The company, which owns the world's largest refining complex in Gujarat, earlier this month agreed to pay $1.7 billion to form a joint venture with Atlas Energy at one of the most promising natural gas deposit regions in the United States.

    At 0745 GMT, shares in Reliance shares, which has a market value of $78 billion, were trading down 2.6 percent at 1,033.80 rupees in a Mumbai market down 0.85 percent.

    (Reporting by Prashant Mehra; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

    (For more business news on Reuters Money visit http://www.reutersmoney.in)

    Siemens arm sets up bogie plant at Aurangabad

    Siemens Rolling Stock, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Siemens, today said it has set up a bogie plant with an investment of Rs 200 crore at Aurangabad in Maharashtra. The factory will manufacture high-performance and superior quality bogies for locomotives, passenger coaches, electric multiple units and metros, the company said in a statement here.

    "Our new plant at Aurangabad was envisaged, keeping in mind the tremendous growth potential of the Indian rail infrastructure segment. India has emerged as the preferred destination for us, as we continue to build and bring technology-intensive manufacturing plants of international standards to India," Siemens Managing Director Armin Bruck said.

    Siemens will provide the latest bogie solutions for the Indian as well Asian markets. The factory has the capacity to manufacture about 800 customised bogies per year, with scope for expansion to suit the market requirement.

    It will provide direct employment to about 250 people and indirect employment to about 1,000 people. The plant has been set up in technological collaboration with the Siemens AG bogie facility at Graz, Austria, the statement said.

    "This bogie factory is the first outside Europe and the US and enables us to offer our customers localised products at highly competitive rates," Bruck said.

    BJP withdraws support to Soren Govt in Jharkhand

    BJP's four-month honeymoon with Shibu Soren ended abruptly on Wednesday with the party withdrawing support to the JMM-led government, a day after the Jharkhand Chief Minister sided with the UPA in the Lok Sabha.

    A meeting of the BJP top brass, headed by party chief Nitin Gadkari, decided to withdraw support immediately giving indications that the new experiment in Ranchi has floundered.

    "The BJP Parliamentary Board has decided to withdraw support immediately to the Shibu Soren government. He (Soren) has behaved in a very dubious manner and voted with the government during the cut motion. BJP has taken very serious note of this betrayal and dubious conduct," senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar told reporters here.

    New equations in Jharkhand appeared to be in the offing with AICC in-charge of the state K Keshav Rao saying, "There is nobody untouchable in politics....(We were) never averse to it (forming a government with JMM). After all we contested the election there to form a government. In politics there is no last word."

    BJP leader and Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister Raghubar Das will submit a letter to the state governor withdrawing support to the JMM-led government later in the day.

    "The Deputy Chief Minister and all BJP ministers in the Jharkhand government will also submit their resignations to the governor," Kumar said.

    Kumar, who along with former party president Rajnath Singh was part of the negotiations with Soren just four months ago to form a government, refused to comment on whether BJP's coalition experiment has failed in the state.

    With elections to the state legislature throwing up a hung assembly, BJP had formed a coalition government with Soren.

    In the 82-member Jharkhand Assembly, BJP and JMM have 18 seats each, Congress 14, RJD 5, JVM 11, ASJU 5, JD(U) 2, CPI(ML) 1 and others and independents six. One member is nominated.

    High Mass in extraordinary form honors pope's fifth anniversary

    A solemn high Mass in the extraordinary form is celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington April 24. (CNS/Nancy Wiechec)

    By Richard Szczepanowski
    Catholic News Service

    WASHINGTON (CNS) -- More than 3,500 people crowded into the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception April 24 to attend the first traditional Latin Mass in decades to be celebrated at the high altar there.

    Sponsored by the Paulus Institute for the Propagation of Sacred Liturgy, the Mass in the extraordinary form was celebrated by Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa, Okla., in honor of the fifth anniversary of the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.

    Close to 100 priests and seminarians assisted at the nearly two-and-a-half-hour pontifical solemn high Mass that was sung entirely in Latin. Cardinal William W. Baum, a retired archbishop of Washington, also attended the Mass, which was celebrated with ancient chants and with pomp, splendor and majesty.

    During the Mass, the faithful prayed that God would "look mercifully upon thy servant, Benedict" and asked that "by his word and example he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life."

    Although the Maryland-based Paulus Institute has been planning the Mass for three years to honor Pope Benedict, it generated negative publicity in the week leading up to the celebration. The originally scheduled celebrant, Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, was criticized for writing a letter in 2001 as the head of the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy, praising a French bishop for not reporting an abusive priest to authorities. In response to the controversy, the Vatican emphasized that bishops are expected to comply with all civil laws that mandate reporting of sex abuse allegations and to cooperate in civil investigations.

    The Paulus Institute announced April 21 that in consultation with Cardinal Castrillon, it decided to seek another celebrant for the Mass.

    Members of the Chicago-based Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests had planned to protest Cardinal Castrillon outside the shrine but did not do so after the choice of Bishop Slattery was announced.

    In his homily, delivered in English, Bishop Slattery did not speak directly about the controversy or recent criticism of the pope, but he did not ignore it.

    "We have much to discuss, you and I -- much to speak of on this glorious occasion when we gather together in the glare of the world's scrutiny to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the ascension of Joseph Ratzinger to the throne of Peter," he said.

    Noting the "enormous suffering which is all around us and which does so much to determine the culture of our modern age," Bishop Slattery pointed to "the enormous suffering of His Holiness these past months" as well as the suffering of those who face poverty, abuse, neglect, disease and heartache. Such suffering, he said, "defines the culture of our modern secular age."

    He added that pain and suffering "could dehumanize us, for it has the power to close us in upon ourselves such that we would live always in chaos and confusion, if we do not remember that Christ -- our hope -- has been raised for our sakes."

    Bishop Slattery urged the faithful to turn to God in times of suffering because "he makes himself most present in the suffering of his people." God's saving presence and infinite love, the bishop said, "can never be overcome by the darkness, no matter how thick, no matter how choking."

    He said suffering -- "yours, mine, the pontiff's" -- is "the heart of personal holiness ... It is the means by which we are made witnesses of his suffering and sharers in the glory to come."

    "Do not be dismayed that many in the church have not yet grasped this point, and fewer still in the world will even consider it," Bishop Slattery said. "You know this to be true -- and 10 men who whisper the truth speak louder than a hundred million who lie."

    Noting that the celebration and the controversy that preceded it has drawn much attention, the bishop offered advice to those at the Mass.

    "If then someone asks of what we spoke today, tell them we spoke of the truth. If someone asks why it is you came to this Mass, say that it was so that you could be obedient with Christ. If someone asks about the homily, tell them it was about a mystery and if someone asks what I said of the present situation, tell them only that we must -- all of us -- become saints."

    The April 24 Mass was celebrated following the last version of the Roman Missal used before and during the Second Vatican Council. It is different from the missal published in 1970.

    Among the differences between the extraordinary form of the Mass and the Masses commonly celebrated in this country are that the entire liturgy is sung in Latin, the priest faces the altar with his back to the congregation, he wears gloves for parts of the liturgy, and a blessing and additional reading of the Gospel are offered after the dismissal.

    During the distribution of Communion, the faithful came to the altar rail, where they knelt and received the Eucharist on the tongue. Many women at the Mass wore veils.

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